The oceanic substratum of Northern Luzon: Evidence from xenoliths within Monglo adakite (the Philippines)

Abstract   A 8.65 Ma adakitic intrusive sheet exposed near Monglo village in the Baguio District of Northern Luzon contains a suite of ultramafic and mafic xenoliths including in order of abundance: spinel dunites showing typical mantle-related textures, mineral and bulk rock compositions, and serpentinites derived from them; amphibole-rich gabbros displaying incompatible element patterns similar to those of flat or moderately enriched back-arc basin basalt magmas; and amphibolites derived from metabasalts and/or metagabbros of identical affinity. A single quartz diorite xenolith carrying a similar subduction-related geochemical signature has also been sampled. One amphibolite xenolith provided a whole-rock K–Ar age of 115.6 Ma (Barremian). We attribute the origin of this suite to the sampling by ascending adakitic magmas of a Lower Cretaceous ophiolitic complex located at a depth within the 30–35 km thick Luzon crust. It could represent an equivalent of the Isabela-Aurora and Pugo-Lepanto ophiolitic massifs exposed in Northern Luzon.     

Multicriteria seismic hazard assessment in Puerto Vallarta metropolitan area,Mexico

Natural Hazards - Puerto Vallarta, a medium-size tourist city, located in the Pacific Coast of Mexico, in a similar way as many other coastal cities, combines human activity with the potential...     

Verification of landslide susceptibility mapping: a case study

A methodology is proposed for mapping susceptibility to landsliding and validating the results. Heavy rains in late 1996 and early 1997 led to a large number of landslids in the Rute sector (Córdoba, Southern Spain), where landslide susceptibility mapping had previously been carried out using a ‘matrix’ method developed with a Geographical Information System (GIS). Analysis of the distribution of the new landslides (or reactivated earlier ones) enabled the methodology to be validated by calculating association coefficients and determining the closeness of the match between subsequent field evidence and the previously defined susceptibility levels. From the data obtained, it can be concluded that the susceptibility mapping effectively explained the spatial distribution of landslides, thus providing valuable information on stability conditions over a widespread area. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow and sediment processes in a cutoff meander of the Danube Delta during episodic flooding

This article analyzes the water and suspended solid fluxes through a straightened meander of the southern branch of the Danube Delta (the St. George branch) during episodic flooding. The Mahmudia study site corresponds to a vast natural meander which was cut off in 1984–1988 by an artificial canal opened to shipping. The meander correction accelerated fluxes through the artificial canal and dramatically enhanced deposition in the former meander. After his formation, the cutoff meander acted as sediment storage locations, essentially removing channel and point bar sediments from the active sediment budget of the main channel. Increases in slope and stream power in reaches upstream and downstream have also occurred, but to a lesser degree. During the one-hundred-year recurrent flood in April 2006, bathymetry, flow velocity and discharge data were acquired across several sections of both natural and artificial channels with an acoustic Doppler current profiler (aDcp Workhorse Sentinel 600 kHz, Teledyne RDI) in order to investigate the distribution of the flow and sediment and his impact on sedimentation in a channelized reach and its adjacent cutoff. The contrasting hydro-sedimentary processes at work in both channels and bifurcation/confluence nodal points are analyzed from the measured flux distribution, morphological profiles and velocity and concentration patterns. In the cutoff, a diminishing of the intensity of the flow velocity (c. 50%) and of the SSC was observed correlated with the aggradation of the river bed. In the bifurcation/confluence nodal points and in the artificial canal were observed the most intensive hydrodynamic activity (high flow velocity, SSC concentration, degradation of the river bad). Both the event-scale and long-term morphological trends of the alluvial system are discussed analyzing the boundary shear stress and SSC variability. Excess boundary shear stress in the sub-reaches directly affected by cutoffs resulted in scour that increased downstream bed material load. These high sediment loads play a key role in driving morphological adjustments towards equilibrium in the cutoff channel.The approach followed in this paper combines detailed episodic in-situ aDcp measurements and robust numerical 1D modeling in order to provide a practical comprehension of the relevant morphodynamical processes. The 1D model reproduces robustly the continuity of hydrodynamical variables along the streamwise axes of the two-channel network. The simulated are used in the paper for highlighting reach-scale morphological processes, at both event and long-term scales.     

Comparison of C and N stable isotope ratios between surface particulate organic matter and microphytoplankton in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean)

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of particulate organic matter (POM) in surface water and 63–200 μm-sized microphytoplankton collected at the fluorescence maximum were studied in four sites in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean), a marine area influenced by the Rhone River inputs, in May and November 2004. Some environmental (temperature, salinity) and biological (POM, Chlorophyll a and phaeopigments contents, phytoplankton biomass and composition) parameters were also analysed. Significantly different C and N isotopic signatures between surface water POM and microphytoplankton were recorded in all sites and seasons. Surface water POM presented systematically lower δ¹³C (∼4.2‰) and higher δ¹⁵N (∼2.8‰) values than those of microphytoplankton, due to a higher content of continental and detrital material. Seasonal variations were observed for all environmental and biological parameters, except salinity. Water temperature was lower in May than in November, the fluorescence maximum was located deeper and the Chlorophyll a content and the phytoplankton biomass were higher, along with low PON/Chl a ratio, corresponding to spring bloom conditions. At all sites and seasons, diatoms dominated the phytoplankton community in abundance, whereas dinoflagellate importance increased in autumn particularly in coastal sites. C and N isotopic signatures of phytoplankton did not vary with season. However, the δ¹⁵N of surface water POM was significantly higher in November than in May in all sites likely in relation to an increase in ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratio of the Rhone River POM which influenced surface water in the Gulf of Lions. As it is important to determine true baseline values of primary producers for analysing marine food webs, this study demonstrated that C and N isotopic values of surface water POM cannot be used as phytoplankton proxy in coastal areas submitted to high river inputs.     

Accurate automated assessment of gully cross‐section geometry using the photogrammetric interface FreeXSapp

During recent years, 3‐D techniques such as LiDAR and Structure‐from‐Motion (SfM) photogrammetry have been increasingly used for gully erosion assessment. However, innovative image‐based approaches based on these advances may also be used to provide accurate cross‐sectional measurements which are less expensive and time‐demanding. In this work, we present the FreeXSapp methodology, a new piece of freely‐available software based on existing SfM tools (MicMac and PMVS2) and augmented‐reality targets (ArUco markers) which performs the automated 3‐D reconstruction, scaling, orientation and analysis of gully cross‐sections (XSs) from images taken from the gully margin using a smartphone camera. As a field application, the volume of a 60‐m‐long medium‐size gully was evaluated, where a total of 10 XSs were measured and analyzed in approximately 30 min. The relative accuracy in estimating width and depth dimensions was in the order of 0.5%, with a precision ratio (relative to the camera–XS distance) of ~1500. Overall, using this methodology showed excellent performance in terms of time and cost requirements when compared with typical 3‐D and conventional 2‐D techniques. The FreeXSapp interface is downloadable for free for Windows operating systems at http://www.uco.es/users/ccastillo/freexsapp. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A texture‐based region growing algorithm for volume extraction in seismic data

We present a novel approach to automated volume extraction in seismic data and apply it to the detection of allochthonous salt bodies. Using a genetic algorithm, we determine the optimal size of volume elements that statistically, according to the U‐test, best characterize the contrast between the textures inside and outside of the salt bodies through a principal component analysis approach. This information was used to implement a seeded region growing algorithm to directly extract the bodies from the cube of seismic amplitudes. We present the resulting three‐dimensional bodies and compare our final results to those of an interpreter, showing encouraging results.     

Compositional variability on the surface of 1 Ceres revealed through GRaND measurements of high‐energy gamma rays

High‐energy gamma rays (HEGRs) from Ceres’s surface were measured using Dawn's Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND). Models of cosmic‐ray‐initiated gamma ray production predict that the HEGR flux will inversely vary with single‐layer hydrogen concentrations for Ceres‐like compositions. The measured data confirm this prediction. The hydrogen‐induced variations in HEGR rates were decoupled from the measurements by detrending the HEGR data with Ceres single‐layer hydrogen concentrations determined by GRaND neutron measurements. Models indicate that hydrogen‐detrended HEGR counting rates correlate with water‐free average atomic mass, which is denoted as <A>*. HEGR variations across Ceres’s surface are consistent with <A>* variations of ±0.5 atomic mass units. Chemical variations in the CM and CI chondrites, our closest analogs to Ceres’s surface, suggest that <A>* variations on Ceres are primarily driven by variations in the concentration of Fe, although other elements such as Mg and S could contribute. Dawn observations have shown that Ceres’s interior structure and surface composition have been modified by some combination of physical (i.e., ice‐rock fractionation) and/or chemical (i.e., alteration) processes that has led to variations in bulk surface chemistry. Locations of the highest inferred <A>* values, and thus possibly the highest Fe and least altered materials, tend to be younger, less cratered surfaces that are broadly associated with the impact ejecta of Ceres’s largest craters.     

Chemical weathering studies in relation to geomorphological research in southeastern Canada

Although chemical weathering provides fundamental information relevant to geomorphology, the subject has been overlooked during the 20th century in Canada. This paper provides an overview of the current state of Canadian research on chemical weathering in southeastern Canada and takes into account three spatial and temporal contexts: (1) the formation of bedrock morphology by chemical weathering, (2) occurrences, characteristics and age of saprolites and (3) contemporary chemical denudation rates. Long-term geomorphological evolution of southeastern Canadian landscapes shows that chemical weathering has played an important role. An example is taken from the Laurentide region of the Canadian Shield north of Montréal (Québec). The present topography resulted from the stripping of the former weathering mantle and from the probable subsequent modification of the weathering front, first by the action of hillslope processes and rivers and then by glaciers, before and during Plio-Pleistocene times. The present landscape reflects the timing of the formation of erosion surfaces, and of the stripping of the Paleozoic cover rocks and exposure of the Shield. Since the late seventies, several isolated occurrences of saprolite-soil profiles have been discovered in eastern Canada and prompted a renewal of the study of these materials about the Cenozoic evolution of these regions. One of the problems in this field of research is the dating of saprolites and their inclusion in a chronostratigraphic framework, along with the other Cenozoic surficial deposits and landforms. Because of the multiple factors involved in the development of secondary minerals in saprolites during the course of weathering, it is preferable to distinguish the dating of saprolites from the study of their mineralogical and geochemical evolution. Fortunately, several new techniques are becoming available for the absolute dating of surficial deposits and saprolites, including the use of cosmogenic radionuclides. Saprolites provide a strong potential field of research for our understanding of the geological evolution of eastern Canada during the Cenozoic. Contemporary weathering and erosion rates are fields of research that have gained increasing interest recently, since modeling landscape geochemical response can be applied to various environmental stress situations, such as acidification by rain and forest harvesting. Rock-type may be the main factor explaining the large differences between watersheds. In fact, variability of cation removal in the temperate zone is probably most closely related to flow-paths of water. Investigations, at different scales, from entire watersheds to slopes to individual pedons, highlight the problem. In the Catamaran Brook watershed (New Brunswick), water chemistry is explained by a mix of groundwater and soil solution from the horizons at the base of the floodplain soils. Geochemical mass-balances based on net outputs give little information on the weathering reactions of primary minerals, the weathering products or on the nature of the weathering processes that provide the dissolved load of streams. Mineralogic and petrographic analysis of selected soil pedons are necessary to determine weathering reactions and their role as sources or sinks for bases, silica, aluminum and iron in the various compartments through which water percolates before it reaches the stream.     

Dynamics and sources of suspended particulate organic matter in the Marennes-Oléron oyster farming bay: Insights from stable isotopes and microalgae ecology

The aim of this study was to distinguish between sources of the complex variety of Marennes-Oléron Bay suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM) contributing to the tropho-dynamics of the Marennes-Oléron oyster farming bay. Basic biomarkers (Chl a, C/N and POC/Chl a ratios), carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from SPOM were analyzed and the microalgae community was characterized. The sampling strategy was bimonthly from March 2002 to December 2003; samples were taken from an intertidal mudflat. Four main sources contributed to the SPOM pool: terrigenous input from rivers, neritic phytoplankton, resuspended microphytobenthos and periodic inputs from intertidal Zostera noltii meadows. Seasonal fluctuations were observed in both years of the study period: (1) SPOM collected in the spring of 2002 (δ¹³C = −25‰ to −23‰) was mainly composed of fresh estuarine inputs; (2) SPOM from the summer and fall of 2002 and 2003 was predominantly neritic phytoplankton (δ¹³C = − 22‰ to −19‰); (3) SPOM from the winter of 2002, spring of 2003 and winter of 2003 (δ¹³C = −21 to −23‰) was composed of a mixture of decayed terrigenous river inputs and pelagic phytoplankton, which was predominantly resuspended microphytobenthos. In the summer of 2003—the warmest summer on record in southern France and Europe—SPOM was particularly enriched for ¹³C, with δ¹³C values ranging from −14‰ to −12‰. Pulses in δ¹³C values, indicative of ¹³C-enriched decaying materials, extended into the fall. These were attributed to benthic intertidal inputs, including both resuspended microphytobenthos and Z. noltii detritus. Changes in SPOM sources in Marennes-Oléron Bay may lead to differences in the quality of the trophic environment available for reared oysters.